Take Ownership of Your Money

It really amazes me how cavalier some people can be when it comes to their investments.

They'll talk about how poorly their investments are doing, and then they will shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well" or "That's the markets for you."

This is their hard-earned money - money that they have toiled for, money that they have had to put up with long commutes and obnoxious bosses for.

There are a few things that everybody should live by when it comes to their investments:

1) You need to take charge of your investments.
2) You need to hold people accountable for the performance of your investments.
3) There is no reason why you can't manage your own investments.

Seriously - managing your own investments is just not that hard. The Internet is absolutely loaded with helpful and useful information that will put you on the right track.

It's important to always consult with tax professionals, etc. to make sure that you are doing the right things tax-wise, but when it comes to choosing mutual funds, bonds and stocks to invest in, there is NO REASON why you can't do this yourself. Absolutely no reason.

Do I really need a stock broker to put me into a mix of different mutual funds? Do I really need a stock broker to tell me which stocks to buy when they are probably just pushing what their higher-ups are telling them to push?

I'm not saying that there aren't great brokers out there - if you have one that you like and you are happy with your performance, then by all means, stay.

But if you AREN'T happy with your performance, then there is absolutely no reason why you should stay. It's YOUR MONEY. Nobody will take more care with your money than you will.

If you aren't happy with your performance, then fire your stock broker. Seriously. If you don't, thirty years will go by and your money will be worth much less than you thought it would be. And, to top it all off, you will have paid a bunch of unnecessary commissions to boot.

There are a large number of reputable online brokers in which you can easily manage your money. Interactive Brokers and Questrade are two of my favorites.

And, on top of that, there is no shortage of useful information that will help you when it comes to choosing your investments.

Take ownership of your money. Believe in yourself and educate yourself. There is no better manager of your money than you.